The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-08-13
Current Events.
A r.arfu, Railway Accident =.

six sleepers, six day Coaches, anu threr ohS
gage cars, drawn by two engines, All tue
ears being tillad with excursonlsts, $50 II
ali, going to Niagara Falls The train had
left Peoria at 8 p. NJ, making Forest an
hour and "A half behindtime. Cha'sworth
the next station east, six miles, was made
In seven minutes, but no stop was lnade
there, and at this terrible rate OF speed the
train rushed on. A correspondent oi the
Chicago Times graphically describes the
horror that followed the passing OF Chats
worth:
"Three miles east of CbatswOrth Is a IN
tie slough, where the railroad track crosses
dry run about ten feet deep anu fifteen
wide. Over this WAS stretched an ordinary
wooden trestle bridge, and Ms the excursion
train came laundering down IN II, what
was the horror Of the engineer on the front
engine when he saw that this bridge was
attire! Right up before his eyes leaped the
bright flames, and the next instant he was
among them There was no chance t.
stop Had there been warning, II would
have taken half mile 10 stop that on rush
ing mass of wood, iron aud human lives,
and the train was within one hundred yards
of the red tOngued messengers OF death be
fore they flashed their fatal signals into the
engineers face. But he passed over In
safety, the first engine keeping the rails
As It went over the bridge fell beneath II,
and il could only have been the terrific
speed of the train which saved the lives OF
the engineer and his fireman. But the
next engine went down, and instantly the
deed of deaIh was done Car crashed Into
Car, coaches piled one on tip Of another,
and in the twinkling Of 40 eye nearly one
hundred people found Instant death, and
fifty more we're 80 hurt they could not live.
As for the wounded, they were everywhere.
"Only the sleeping coaches escaped, and
as the startled and half dressed passengers
came tumbling out OF them, they found
such a scene Of death rs Is rarely witnessed
and such work TO do that II seemed as II
human hands were utterly Incapable. ltI
lacked but five minutes of midnight. Down
In the ditch lay the second engineer
Mr. McClintock, dead, and fireman Apple.
gate badly injured. On top were piled the
three baggage cars, one atop OF anosier,
like boys card house after he had swept
II with his hand Then came the six day
coaches. They were telescoped AS cars
never were before, and three OF them were
pressed into jIst space enough for one. Tie
second car mounted of its trucks, crashed
through the car ahead of II, crushing the
woodwork aside like finder and lay there
resting on the tops Of the seats, while ev, [,
cry passenger In the front Car WAS lying
dead and dying underneath. Out Of thut
car but four people came alive. On top of
the second car lay the third, and It's bottom
smeared with the blood of Its victims. The
other three cars were not 30 badly crushed, |
but they we're broken and twisted In every |
conceivable way, and every crushed timber
and beam represented crushed human
frame and broken bone"
The horrors that fell upon the eyes of
those that escaped, who can tell There
were heroes there, however, as everywhere
when great calamities come. The bridge
timbers still burned and there was the
threatiug horror Of fire In the ruins. That
ilameshad to be extingIished There was
no water, no light save Of the burning tim.
bers, and few men who had presence of
mind enough to realize the work and their
duty. There was but one weapon by which
10 fight the fire, aud that was eartE-it
could be smothered; but there was neither
pick nor shovel to dig with, so they dug
with their hands down into the earth where
the drought had made as hard as stone.
SO they Dug with finger nails broken AMI
fingers worn raw, heaping 1t up in little
piles, and by keeping the precious hand
fuls on the fire until by the arrival Of farm.
ers with shovels, and drenching rain, the
fire was extnguished. The work OF rescue
went on as fast AZ possible, the dead and
wounded being carried from the wreck to
A stubb!e field near by; but at 9 80 il began
10 rain In torrents, the horror Of the wreck
being supplemented by the roar OF thunder
The flare of lightning, and the drenching
rain, making scene TO appall the stoutest ,
heart.
The number OF dead taken out of the
debris Is over 100; and at least three times
hat number were wounded These were S
AIKEN TO Chatsworth and to Forrest The
majority of the victims were from Peoria,
hough other towns near by and other d
tates contributed their share to the list of /
Iictims. Mrs. s. r. Borden of Tonica, is I
FAMED among the wounded, the only one
rom this county, 80 far as the lists pub.
ished yesterday indicate. Esquire V. b |
Weeks and Thos, Foley, of this city, were c
a the train, but both escaped with slight Z
INJURIES A La Sale man is also unac. =,
ounted for.
The fire on the bridge may attributed to
ccident: the common one In times of 10
lought of sparks from passing trains but
here is a suspicion also that the firing of
be bridge may have been deliberated l
york Of train workers, for no sooner had C
he wreck occurred than the robbing of the {
lead began. The dead pinned under The y
'reck We're plundered of their money and :,
ewels and none OF the dead or disabled
aid out on the stubble or In the corn near Il
he wreck escaped the vandals who stripped b
hem Of every possible valuable >,
The current opinion in England Is that
ne by elections II the past two weeks prove II
eyond doubt that home rule in Ireland Is
] Ireland Is but question of time O
The London Midland railway Is endur
lg strike Of employees, some 5000 y
aying withdrawn from work, practically 81
ringing the traffic TO stand still Up
The jury In the Chicago Doodle case %
Iade short work Of the case when IL got ''
10 their hands on last Friday and after 9
cling out about five houre found verdict m
guilty, recommending McClaughery, IN
chs, Leyden, Varnell, Van Pert, Wren and =,